Lack of staff forces coastal restaurants at drastic opening times!

Lack of staff forces coastal restaurants at drastic opening times!

In the coastal regions of Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, vacationers feel the effects of a massive lack of personnel in the catering trade. Because of the acute shortage of skilled workers, many restaurants and bakeries have drastically restricted their opening hours. Those affected report that some companies open later, closed earlier and even had more rest days. This applies particularly to popular holiday destinations such as Sylt, where some branches had to close without further ado, while new self-service branches were opened in Westerland, in which cashless can be paid without cashier. [Welt] reports of a bakery on the north Frisian mainland, which closes its gates at 10 a.m.

Another example is the "Saimons" restaurant in Nieblum on Föhr, which was only open three days a week over the winter. In the meantime, the Situation has relaxed a bit, and the restaurant now opens six days a week again, but only from 12 p.m. The President of the German Hotel and Restaurant Association (DEHOGA) Schleswig-Holstein, Axel Strehl, names the changed lifestyle of the guests as one of the reasons for the decline in the midday business. Fewer and fewer visitors take up classic lunch and have breakfast later, which makes the situation further difficult for many restaurants. [Time] emphasizes that lunch has also been canceled from the offer of many restaurants in other coastal places.

Lack of personnel as a permanent problem

Since Corona pandemic, the shortage of skilled workers has been a permanent topic in gastronomy. According to the State Statistical Office, the number of employees in restaurants in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania decreased by 0.9 percent last year, while the number of guests rose. In Kummerow, restaurants often closed after 8 p.m. because there is a lack of chefs. A managing director expressed concern about the financial consequences and the limited opportunities to serve customers. In Schleswig-Holstein, too, the effects of personnel lack are clearly noticeable, since the offer cannot keep up with the increased demand. [Welt] reports that a bakery in Deezbüll and Klanxbüll, which had to temporarily close last year, are now open again, but have limited reach at the time.

The increased energy and wage costs also also burden the industry, while the price sensitivity of the customers is high and restricts the possibility of passing on these increased expenses. Other regions, such as Frankfurt, face similar problems: host Mario Furlanello says that he had to serve in the Bornheim Ratskeller himself while looking for new specialists, also abroad. The gastronomy remains under pressure because many companies have difficulty staying competitive due to the large shortage of skilled workers and increasing costs. [ZDF] emphasizes that inflation is particularly stressful for services and food, while VAT in the catering area was increased from 7 to 19 percent.

Overall, it is foreseeable that the crisis in gastronomy will take a long time if solutions are quickly found to fix the lack of personnel and relieve the industry. Read on the developments in gastronomy in [world], [Zeit] and [ZDF].